Written by

Matt Brown, USA TODAY Sports

With no draft and the closest thing to a salary cap an 85-scholarship limit, there can only be so much parity in college football. Hence the class system that has ruled the sport for much of its history.

For decades, nobody gave Oregon football much thought. The Ducks coasted along, in and out of obscurity, often bad, sometimes decent. From 1964 through 1988, they failed to reach the postseason once. Then, Rich Brooks finally took them to three bowl games before making the jump in 1994, with a Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl appearance.